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Old Posted Jul 2, 2013, 1:31 PM
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Why isn't Southwestern Michigan more developed?

I've been thinking about how rural SW Michigan is, and have wondered why at least one major tourist/vacation city wasn't built in the twentieth century on the scale of what you might find in New Jersey, you know complete with a boardwalk. It seems to me that a city like New Buffalo should be 3X as large. Don't get me wrong, I love that the Michigan coast isn't completely destroyed, I just wish there was at least one early twentieth century east coast style boardwalk with a sizable old town behind it.

I'm not 100% familar with western michigan, I've routinely visted the area between St. Joseph down to New Buffalo for several years now, only going north all the way to Traverse City once. I wouldnt mind checking out Grand Haven this weekend, or any other city of note.

Also, I haven't been to Navy Pier in years, is there ANYTHING there worth checking out? Seems like that is the closest thing to a boardwalk in Chicagoland. Just as a point of reference, I routinely explore places like Hegewisch or go to Schallers pump or bar(s) in Hyde Park or hunt thin crust Chicago Style pizza on the distant south side so I'm not a normal tourist...

Last edited by Centropolis; Jul 2, 2013 at 1:43 PM.
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Old Posted Jul 2, 2013, 6:08 PM
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Just some anecdotal assumptions, but most of Michigan's tourism is focused North around Mackinaw City, Traverse City, and Frankfort. It's just a bit more picturesque up that way and the tourism gets spread all around. Historically it's always been a critical pull heading north of Detroit, even before I-75 existed.
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Old Posted Jul 2, 2013, 6:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Hayward View Post
Just some anecdotal assumptions, but most of Michigan's tourism is focused North around Mackinaw City, Traverse City, and Frankfort. It's just a bit more picturesque up that way and the tourism gets spread all around. Historically it's always been a critical pull heading north of Detroit, even before I-75 existed.
Traverse City did have a bit of a beach town/holiday vibe that I kind of forgot about. I would have considered going there this weekend but that's a 9+ hour drive from St. Louis - that's like a drive to New Orleans. Too much for a (relaxing) weekend. I'll take New Buffalo. When I first "discovered" the beach up there I would go to Indiana Dunes, I imagine that is going to be a circus (driving/parking) this weekend.
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Old Posted Jul 2, 2013, 11:32 PM
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Michigan has more than 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline and several inland lakes. Things get a bit spread out, plus the population center is in metro Detroit; the opposite side of the state.
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  #5  
Old Posted Jul 3, 2013, 1:26 AM
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Much of the situation may be caused by the geography of the region. Unlike in eastern Michigan, rivers in West Michigan tend to flow into a smaller lake right before they reach Lake Michigan (i.e. Macatawa River into Lake Macatawa in Holland, Kalamazoo River into Kalamazoo Lake in Saugatuck-Douglas, etc.). Notable exceptions include Grand Haven and South Haven, and these areas seem to have more beach-tourism. Most of the cities were built either on the smaller lakes or on one of the rivers before they reached a smaller lake. Therefore, the towns are often slightly removed from Lake Michigan and the beaches. (Holland's beach, for example, is located on the other side of Lake Macatawa compared to downtown Holland. Due to this, the two areas are typically separate destinations). Those cities that are closer to Lake Michigan have larger marinas or old port facilities that separate their downtowns from the beach. Places such as Grand Haven and South Haven are trying to remedy this, and they are developing boardwalks along their respective rivers. However, they are more scenic and recreational than commercial.

Also, many of the towns on Lake Michigan were connected to Chicago directly by steamers, or the railroads brought tourists directly to their resorts. Due to, this, there probably was not much interaction between the towns and their resorts as much as you may see elsewhere.

I hope this answers most of your question! If you still have wonderings, please let me know! By the way, I definitely recommend going to Grand Haven. If you can make it for the Fourth, they have a (typically) very well-put-together musical fountain and fireworks show at dusk. I'll be there, as I have been going for years. South Haven would also make for a nice mid-way stop. I think you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find!

Last edited by JonathanGRR; Jul 9, 2013 at 11:36 PM.
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Old Posted Jul 3, 2013, 2:50 AM
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Three Oaks

Not developed - that's what makes it so nice.
Anyone wanting to enjoy it check out the Apple Cider Century (shorter routes available as well).

Some older shots - Nikon FE2



Dude in the seat starts High School next fall.


Ready for tourists


The tandem Trail-a-bike - thank god SW Mich is flat.
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Old Posted Jul 3, 2013, 2:58 AM
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Coloma

My sister in law bough a place in Coloma - because it was undeveloped (she lives in Lakeview)







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Old Posted Jul 3, 2013, 3:21 AM
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St. Joseph/Benton Harbor is a relatively sizable urban center with a population of some 60,000. Holland has over 100,000 or so. Even the Grand Haven area is approaching 50,000. While obviously none of them would be a major city, I wouldn't necessarily say they are small either.
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Old Posted Jul 3, 2013, 4:29 AM
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There was a boardwalk in St. Joseph. It was called Silver Beach Amusement park and paradoxically enough was located where the Silver Beach County park is located today. It operated from 1891 to 1971 and was torn down in '73 or '74.





But it ended up like this:


source: http://rememberingsilverbeach.com/index.html

I don't have any real sources to back up my hypothesis but I imagine most tourist towns on Lake Michigan followed a similar path. The late 19th and 20th centuries were boom times for tourism and coincided with fruit shipment to Chicago. St. Joseph and Benton Harbor had mineral baths and health spas where Chicagoans would go for vacation. Hotels were built in both St. Joseph and Benton Harbor like the Whitcomb Hotel.



However, when Lake Michigan fruit shipping began to decline along with other Lake Michigan shipping, tourism was replaced with manufacturing in many of the larger coast cities. SJ/BH had a huge number of large manufacturers, number one of course being Whirlpool. Manufacturing was profitable and the two cities reached their peaks. Pollution and invasive species diminished what was left of the tourist industry through the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The 1970s being the nadir for Lake Michigan health. In fact when I was born, living on the beach was looked down upon.

We all know what happened to manufacturing in Michigan during the 80s and 90s and unfortunately, Benton Harbor bore the brunt of it. BH was a pretty sizeable city at one point in time. Next time you're in town drive around downtown and imagine all the empty lots and parking filled in.

The lake became cleaner, thanks in part to the zebra mussels, and there were less ale wives, so people from Chicago began coming over and discovering Southwest Michigan once again. Benton Harbor looks better than it has my entire life, not that that is saying much and it certainly hasn't helped the vast majority of its residents, but there are actually businesses downtown.
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Old Posted Jul 3, 2013, 2:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Standpoor View Post
There was a boardwalk in St. Joseph. It was called Silver Beach Amusement park and paradoxically enough was located where the Silver Beach County park is located today. It operated from 1891 to 1971 and was torn down in '73 or '74.





But it ended up like this:


source: http://rememberingsilverbeach.com/index.html

I don't have any real sources to back up my hypothesis but I imagine most tourist towns on Lake Michigan followed a similar path. The late 19th and 20th centuries were boom times for tourism and coincided with fruit shipment to Chicago. St. Joseph and Benton Harbor had mineral baths and health spas where Chicagoans would go for vacation. Hotels were built in both St. Joseph and Benton Harbor like the Whitcomb Hotel.



However, when Lake Michigan fruit shipping began to decline along with other Lake Michigan shipping, tourism was replaced with manufacturing in many of the larger coast cities. SJ/BH had a huge number of large manufacturers, number one of course being Whirlpool. Manufacturing was profitable and the two cities reached their peaks. Pollution and invasive species diminished what was left of the tourist industry through the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The 1970s being the nadir for Lake Michigan health. In fact when I was born, living on the beach was looked down upon.

We all know what happened to manufacturing in Michigan during the 80s and 90s and unfortunately, Benton Harbor bore the brunt of it. BH was a pretty sizeable city at one point in time. Next time you're in town drive around downtown and imagine all the empty lots and parking filled in.

The lake became cleaner, thanks in part to the zebra mussels, and there were less ale wives, so people from Chicago began coming over and discovering Southwest Michigan once again. Benton Harbor looks better than it has my entire life, not that that is saying much and it certainly hasn't helped the vast majority of its residents, but there are actually businesses downtown.

OH NO!

This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks!


I can definitely see the day that SW, W Michigan sees an explosion in condo, hotel building along the beach, a la the Florida panhandle , especially if the lower midwest keeps seeing week long stretches of heat above 100 degrees. Most of the central midwest is within a 6 hour drive with the bonus of not having to go through Chicago but a huge percentage of those people drive down to the gulf coast or whatever - in summer to boot (yuck!). I'm kind of dumbfounded as to why this hasn't happened yet, guess I should enjoy it! Michigan has yet again been blitzing the largely untapped St. Louis market, so much so that Missouri is mimicing the campaign locally, even putting up signs right next to the Pure Michigan signs.

Last edited by Centropolis; Jul 3, 2013 at 2:23 PM.
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Old Posted Jul 3, 2013, 5:47 PM
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I saw tons of new condo units in Michigan City last month on the way to Chicago. I had wondered why towns like Benton Harbor weren't seeing any of that action.
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Old Posted Jul 3, 2013, 9:02 PM
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The winters there are pretty brutal (lake effect snow is common). But it's a very nice place in summertime for sure.
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Old Posted Jul 4, 2013, 1:47 AM
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Another reason could have been in the existence of Ramona Park in East Grand Rapids. Located on the shores of Reeds Lake, the amusement was accessible by streetcar, and it was the top get-away location for families in Grand Rapids. I would assume that the park drew many away from cities and beaches on Lake Michigan to some degree of significance.


As to why many do not vacation in the lakefront towns, I would think this is simply because many are ignorant as to what Lake Michigan has to offer. When one of my former teachers was in Florida a while back, a local that he met was shocked to find out that my teacher visited the beach quite often: "You mean you have beaches in Michigan...are they nice?"

Last edited by JonathanGRR; Jul 4, 2013 at 4:00 AM.
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Old Posted Jul 4, 2013, 3:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Centropolis View Post
Also, I haven't been to Navy Pier in years, is there ANYTHING there worth checking out? ...I'm not a normal tourist...
Long answer, No.
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Old Posted Jul 4, 2013, 4:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Centropolis View Post
why at least one major tourist/vacation city wasn't built in the twentieth century on the scale of what you might find in New Jersey, you know complete with a boardwalk.
The Jersey Shore served demand from both New York and Philadelphia—huge numbers compared to Chicago. Second, Chicago demand was split among Lake Geneva, Chain of Lakes, Southwest Michigan, and even a few places in Indiana. Finally, Chicago had high-quality in-town beaches, which you could get to on the streetcar. New York didn't have anything similar until the Robert Moses era, and even then they were much harder to reach.
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Old Posted Jul 9, 2013, 7:02 PM
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After working in a steel mill on the south side of Chicago my Dad retired and moved to South Haven. He loves that little town. The only time he complains is in the summer time when it's over-run with FIPs (fucking Illinois people)
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Old Posted Feb 26, 2014, 3:20 AM
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It's a modest summer vacation place for middle class Chicagoans. But it's no place to live in the winter. Lake effect snow means average annual snowfall of between 80 and 110 inches.
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